


Drinking Buddy

by Burgie



Series: MadelynxAlonso AU [2]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 19:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13531245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: In which Madelyn is a sad drunk and the Baroness is a bitch. Warning for language. Madelyn belongs to firgrove on tumblr.





	Drinking Buddy

Normally, Alonso was called away to emergencies in the national park, riders having come off of their horses or people or animals getting injured or trapped in the often-dangerous woods. But the text message that he received now made him frown in concern. Being a ranger, one would expect Alonso to have roamed far and wide over Jorvik, but the truth was that he hadn’t gone far from Mistfall. He’d moved here from Canada when he’d been old enough to move to a new country on his own, and had never wanted to leave this beautiful place.

But now here he was, receiving a text message from someone calling herself the Baroness of Silverglade. Alonso opened the message, his heart rate immediately spiking when he saw who was in trouble.

“Alonso, I’ve heard that you’re the go-to man for emergencies around here. At least, when our current hero is currently incapacitated. Please come and collect Madelyn, she is in my cellar drinking all of my stock. The Baroness of Silverglade.”

“Oh, Madelyn,” Alonso fretted, replying that he was on his way and putting his phone back into the chest pocket of his ranger uniform. He smiled as he gently stroked his old mare’s neck, having taken her out to Berry Hill for a snack. “C’mon, girl, had enough to eat? Someone is in trouble.” Mardy picked her head up, still chewing on blueberries (her mouth and tongue were actually stained purple from the blueberry juices) and blew blueberry-scented breath in his face.

Alonso made it across the land in record time, despite how much Mardy had gorged herself on blueberries, and pulled up outside the winery, leaving Mardy in the safe hands of the stablehands. He looked around as he walked through the winery, the scent of grapes in the air mingling with the scents of horses. It was a pleasant smell, though he hoped that Mardy wouldn’t try to eat any of the grapes.

“Are you Alonso?” asked an old woman, striding over to him from the large, fancy-looking manor. She was dressed quite elegantly too, her long, purple dress smelling faintly of grapes. Alonso had a moment to wonder if everything smelled like grapes around here. But then, he was busy smiling and shaking the hand of the old lady.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Alonso. “Ranger Alonso, at your service.” He gave her a grin that showed very white teeth.

“Good,” said the Baroness, nodding. “Your girlfriend is in the cellar back there.” She gestured with her head towards a massive brick building, and Alonso’s heart sank. He was used to navigating forests, good at it, even, but a large building? Even with a map and a compass, he’d still get lost.

“Okay, I’ll go and get her,” said Alonso, his cheeks burning at the title that the Baroness had given to Madelyn. They hadn’t put any labels on their relationship yet, but he guessed that ‘girlfriend’ was true enough. They certainly went on enough dates.

“It’s the door at the far end, by the bridge,” said the Baroness. “Most riders around here ride their horses down there, it’s faster than walking.”

“Er, I think I’ll be okay walking,” said Alonso, knowing that an unattended Mardy would end up in the grape fields if he left her outside that door. Besides, he needed to stretch his legs after that long ride, and Mardy deserved a good rest in the stables.

Upon reaching the barn-style door, Alonso wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and opened the door, waiting to hear any signs of danger. But he didn’t hear any concerning sounds, no smashing of bottles or sobbing. Only silence, and the throbbing of a machine through the walls. He descended the stairs, wishing for a railing to prevent him from toppling headfirst down the stairs. After hearing about Madelyn’s current condition, he knew that she’d probably need the support of a railing on the way back up, too.

But, once he stood on the floorboards (which were warped as though they’d been wet and then dried too quickly), Alonso concentrated on finding the inevitably-drunk young woman. She wasn’t through the first doorway at the base of the stairs, which led to a small hallway, nor was she in the room that held the large, loud machine that pounded in his ears. He winced, imagining that that would be the worst if someone had a hangover.

Walking back down the hallway, Alonso went through another door, and, after glancing in a closet, finally found the girl that he was looking for. She sat slumped against a wine rack, staring vacantly forward, a half-empty wine bottle dangling from her fingers. Her eyes were red-rimmed, though from alcohol or tears, Alonso didn’t know. He knelt down in front of her, giving her a gentle smile as he looked her in the eyes.

“Hey,” said Alonso, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder and trying to take the bottle with his other hand.

“Nuh!” Madelyn slurred, gripping the neck of the bottle tighter. She blinked, then grinned at him. “Heyyyy, Alonsho!” The liquid sloshed in the bottle as she tried to wave at him, and Alonso grimaced as her erratic motions sent droplets of wine splashing onto his brown shirt. He was glad that part of Ranger training included learning how to wash stains from things.

“Hi, Madelyn,” said Alonso, giving her a friendly smile. He leaned back as she lunged forward to kiss him, her breath reeking of alcohol.

“You came! I hoped you would,” said Madelyn. “I’ve been thinking about you…” She giggled, and Alonso knew that his cheeks were burning crimson.

“What are you doing here, Madelyn?” asked Alonso, trying to keep too much worry from his voice. “It’s the middle of the day, why aren’t you exploring the natural beauty of Jorvik while the sun’s still up?”

“Becaushe I’mm mmoping,” said Madelyn, her face creasing up in a frown. “Sometimes, life just… gets ya down, yanno?” She looked up at him, sliding further down the rack and onto the floor. Alonso sat down beside her, keeping her propped up with his shoulder.

“Well, yes, but you know that you can always come and talk to me, right?” asked Alonso. “You don’t have to go through this alone.” Madelyn shrugged, her eyes half-closed.

“Not bout thish,” said Madelyn. “Ish alla… secret. Huuuge shecret.” She took another swig of wine, far too much to enjoy the flavour and scent of it. Alonso hated to see her like this, his heart aching at the sight of such a wonderful girl, a great future ranger, so brought down by something.

“Well… if you can’t talk to me, maybe I can be your drinking buddy,” said Alonso, giving a silent apology to the Baroness as he snagged another bottle of wine from the rack and used the corkscrew on his pocket knife to pull the cork out of it. He wanted to savour the taste, and he did breathe deeply of the fumes, but instead, he took a deep gulp of the wine, grimacing slightly at the taste. Wine this good wasn’t made to be drank this quickly.

However, after a few long swallows, Alonso found that the wine started to taste better. But maybe that was mostly because the room started to look a little blurrier, and Madelyn developed a glow about her. A white glow, which was slightly confusing. He’d been intoxicated before, but things had never started glowing like this.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna talk to me?” asked Alonso.

“Oh, I want to,” said Madelyn. “But I can’t because secrets and bluh.” She rolled her eyes, then almost slipped onto the floor entirely. Alonso pulled her back up, though.

“Secrets?” asked Alonso, raising his eyebrows in alarm. “Is this something that will get you into trouble?”

“No! Nononono, not me,” said Madelyn, shaking her head. She looked a little green when she did that, and covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed something, then chased it down with some more wine. “I’m worried about you.”

“Me?” asked Alonso. “Don’t you trust me?” In his inebriated state, his mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusions, without his normal rational head on his shoulders.

“Of course I trust you!” said Madelyn, putting down her bottle. It fell and rolled away from her, but she didn’t seem to notice. “But it’s just- I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“I’m a ranger, I was trained to go into dangerous sishuasions,” said Alonso, alarmed to find himself slurring his words. How much had he drunk?

“Nooo,” Madelyn moaned, finally sliding onto the floor. “The less you know, the better. Cause you’ll tryta help, an then you’ll get in over your head, an then you’ll get in trouble or die and it’ll be my fauuult.” She closed her eyes, tears streaking down her cheeks, and tried to drink the wine from her spot on the floor. It sloshed over her face, causing her to splutter and sit up, coughing. Alonso patted her on the back.

“Alright, alright,” said Alonso. “I won’t ask. But I’m just worried about you.”

“I know, becaushe you’re sooo shweeet,” said Madelyn, cupping his face in her hands. She did kiss him now, wine from her hair dripping onto Alonso’s shoulders, but he barely noticed.

“If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do,” said Alonso, tears springing to his eyes. Madelyn cooed again, and found her bottle of wine, raising it up.

“Let’s drink to your sweetness,” said Madelyn, and, clinking their bottles together, drank deeply. Alonso did the same, the wine going down his throat easily.

Hours passed, and more wine bottles began to litter the floor, some empty, some only half-empty but forgotten about. They lay in a puddle of wine, making the room reek of it. But they were long past getting used to the smell- they, too, stank of wine, it seeming to seep from their very pores. Their mouths tasted like wine as they kissed, purple-tinged fingers twining in brown and chestnut hair, wine soaking into parts of their clothing.

When the Baroness found them, she almost fainted dead away from shock. She stood in the doorway, a hand on her chest, staring open-mouthed at the pair kissing on the floor in hundreds of dollars’ worth of spilled product.

“What is the meaning of this?” she barked, her face turning the colour of her grapes. The pair didn’t so much spring apart as scuttle to either sides of the room like naughty teenagers. “Alonso! Shame on you! I brought you here because I thought you’d help the situation, not make it worse!” Alonso hiccuped, his face burning.

“S-sorry,” said Alonso. “I tried to talk to her, but then I thought that she might need a drinking buddy.” He hiccuped again. The Baroness glowered at him, then turned her gaze on Madelyn. 

“And you,” said the Baroness, shaking her head. “You helped me out for many months, you were a good worker, and this is how you repay me for employing you.” She tutted. “I should’ve known not to trust young girls, especially after all the trouble Alex and Linda caused me.”

“All the trouble?” Madelyn snapped, lurching to her feet as her eyes blazed with anger. “You locked her in a fucking castle! Who does that?”

“She did what to who?” asked Alonso, now also frowning at the Baroness. The Baroness sighed.

“Look, you’re both drunk, let’s just go inside and get you two cleaned up and sobered up. You can both stay here for the night, I guess, and then work here until you repay me for all the product you wasted.”

“Fuck you!” Madelyn spat. She staggered forward and tripped over her feet, to which the Baroness shook her head.

“I’d leave you two down here, but I’ve already lost enough product to you two,” said the Baroness. Instead, she bent down, grabbed Madelyn by the arm, and dragged her out of the room.

Alonso shot up to his feet, swayed slightly from the dizziness, and took off after them, moving a little unsteadily but still managing to stay on his feet. He followed the screaming of Madelyn until he emerged out into a purple sunset, actually grateful for the dimmed light. He jogged ahead, trying to catch up with the troubled girl, but the Baroness beat him into the manor. Alonso followed them, not even hesitating as he passed through a door and into a bathroom, where the Baroness had turned the cold water tap of the shower all the way on and was now wrestling with Madelyn, who was doing her best not to be shoved under that cold water.

“No!” Madelyn screamed as she finally lost her grip on the shower door and was slammed into the far wall under the water. She screamed louder, and Alonso barged in, pushed the Baroness aside, and took Madelyn by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes. She sobbed under the water, shivering, and Alonso turned to shut the water off.

“How can you do that to a person?” Alonso snapped at the Baroness, his usually-calm temper flaring as he glared at the woman.

“Sober up,” the Baroness snapped at him, and left the bathroom. Madelyn found comfort in his arms as she wept, trembling more from emotions than anything. Alonso rubbed her arms.

“It’s okay, she’s gone now,” said Alonso. Madelyn sniffled, looking him in the eyes.

“She’s such a bitch,” said Madelyn, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Yeah, she made a great first impression,” said Alonso. “But like I said, it’s okay, she’s gone now. I’d take you back to Mistfall but neither of us is in any state to ride so we’ll have to stay the night here. But as soon as we wake up and sober up, we’re outta here.” He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. “I promise.” Madelyn clutched him tightly.

“How can anyone as nice as you be real?” Madelyn whispered. Alonso kissed her forehead, holding her gently in his arms. Even if she couldn’t or wouldn’t tell him what was really worrying her, he’d still be there for her. Because she clearly needed someone on her side.


End file.
